Let nature take you in this holiday weekend

Many of us retreat to nature for the Memorial Day weekend. It’s the unofficial start to summer that begs us to revel in the pleasures of being outdoors.

Some of us truly know and feel the connection we have with nature. Others celebrate mostly with that knowing in the background of their lives. As a tradition we have food, friends, and drink for the long holiday weekend, which is fine, but too often we overlook the beauty surrounding us. It’s always there ready to teach us valuable lessons if we’re willing to watch and listen.

I will leave you with a short story from an author I’ve shared with you before. Mark Nepo tells us how a bird building a nest humbled him and reminded him of the brilliance of simplicity.

“It was a very small thing, watching a robin carry a twig too big for its nest. It tried once, then twice, to use it, and somehow, with its very small bird brain, it knew it was no good. It simply flew off and picked another.
I went and found the twig. There wasn’t a mark on it. I rolled it in my hand and thought of all the times I’ve labored, trying to make things too big fit. So often what we want is like that twig, too big to fit, too big to be of use, and we stay lodged in an unhappiness created by holding on to something that can’t complete our nest.
It was humbling to watch a small bird work, singing as it went, leaving what it couldn’t use as it found it. If we could only treat each other with such simple kindness.”

I think I could turn and live with animals.
They do not sweat and whine about their condition.
Not one is dissatisfied.– Walt Whitman